Mistakes and Consequences
by Denisore
Summary: When Nick applies for the academy, he knows he will have to face the consequences of his life choices and mistakes. What he doesn't expect is for other mammals to make their own, much to its detriment. Warning: dark one-shot, on what Zootopia could be like if animals were closer to humans.


**[AN**

**Hey there!**

**So, I woke up a couple days ago with dark thoughts running through mind after quite the nightmare, and got difficulties getting rid of it all day long. I just felt I needed to write it down then. On reading the result, I didn't know if I should post it or not. I finally am because I consider it another training.**

**Warning though : this is a nightmare put on paper, don't expect fluff and love...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Zootopia or any related content, this is just fan work.**

**AN]**

* * *

Judy was crying.

Nothing would have been able to prevent it. Not her parents standing to both her sides, nor chief Bogo sitting two rows behind, nor Finnick on the side of the room, as all were as down as her.

Bonnie and Stu couldn't stand to see their daughter like this, but they were powerless and their only option was to physically be there.

Bogo had his arms crossed on his chest, teeth grinding so hard the sound reverberated on the walls of the small room. His experience as chief of police was just enough to stop the tears, but his anger was as palpable as the glass window he knew separated them from the bed in the adjacent room behind the heavy black curtain.

Finnick's own anger rivaled the buffalo's, as a flow of colorful words kept escaping his muzzle, snarls after snarls of insults towards all that were responsible for their presence here that day. And the list was long enough to leave him breathless before he started from the beginning again, like an old disk stuck on repeat in a malfunctioning hi-fi system.

The wooden clock on the wall was mocking them, each second resonating like a bell in their ears, time seemingly much slower than before as an eternity filled the gap between each seconds.

Ironically, time was actually the only thing they didn't have a lot of left, and that only soured the mood. Ten more minutes were spent like the previous, until finally the sound of a doorknob being turned could be heard. All mammals stood, anxiety gripping their hearts.

Judy wished she could wake up from this nightmare…

* * *

Judy was crying.

The sight was heartbreaking for the red fox waiting on his chair. Any gentlemammal would have risen to welcome a lady, but the chains linking his feet to the table prevented him from doing so. He couldn't even wave at her and open his arms in welcome, a pair of cuffs making sure he remained perfectly still and harmless.

His only option was to smile brightly at her, though it obviously wouldn't be enough. Judy ran all the way and tried to reach for him and hug him, but the rhino standing next to him interfered, placing his enormous body between the two friends.

The tears flowing doubled at being denied the contact she had been missing for so long, but her red eyes did nothing to make the guard move, so she backed down helplessly and sit in the chair that had been brought for her. The duo now stood face to face, separated by the cold metal table, tired and anxious amethysts locking on guilty emeralds.

Guilt to see her so frail, so vulnerable, all because of him. The rabbit looked at his paws, and then at the guard questioningly. The rhino let out a noisy breath through its nostrils, but still decided to nod. He would never understood why a hero like the first rabbit officer would waste her time on a filthy pelt like this fox, but he was no monster, and Wilde clearly was in no position to hurt her, so he granted her this request.

A small but sincere smile flashed on the bunny's face, before she leaned forward and intertwined her digits with Nick's in a reassuring manner. They both remained like this for moments, before she started what would be the hardest conversation of her life.

"Nick, I'm so sorry!" another stream of tears ran down her cheeks, and sobs began shaking her shoulders. She choked on the next words, pain gripping her chest in an icy grip, and her gaze lowered to their paws. "I couldn't do anything…"

"Hey Carrots, that's not your fault. Please look at me." When she reluctantly did as she was told, she could only see tenderness and care in his eyes, not a single note of anger or accusation. His voice was sweet and soothing, and that only added to her pain.

"I know you did your best as always. You can't blame yourself for their decision, or my actions." This time, it was Nick who turned his head, incapable to hold her gaze any longer when talking about what he had done while savage.

She didn't know about his past with the mob when she first met him and dragged him along. Even when Mr. Big admitted to have welcomed him, she didn't have the time to dig deeper as the case was her priority at that time.

That, and the fact she didn't like nor trust him yet. Now that she had him apply to the academy, his past had been revealed, and what a mistake she had made. An uncomfortable silence followed, before Nick resumed in a whisper. "So, what will it be?"

Another flow of tears on his friend's face told him things were bad, and he doubled the number of years he thought he would spend in jail for his deeds, now reaching twenty. He sighed in resignation. He had accepted his fate long ago, and his friends would be there through it all, so it would be alright in the end.

Lost in his own thoughts, he didn't see the bunny in front of him shiver from head to toe. The words could not escape her mouth. She had insisted on being the one to talk to him, but now she couldn't find the strength to.

Judy wished she could wake up from this nightmare…

* * *

Judy was crying.

After two weeks of deliberation, the sentence had been revealed, and it was definitely not what she was hoping to hear. How mammals who consider themselves civilized could reach such a verdict was beyond her comprehension. Still, there was no going back now, and her world had been forever destroyed.

She would never see her friend become a cop, the first fox cop in history; would never go on patrol with him, laughing at his antics and jokes; would never catch criminals thanks to his wit and quick thinking; all in all, she would never make the world a better place with him.

A world she hoped to build when she was younger, a world where a verdict like this one would have never happened. All her dreams had been reduced to ashes, together with her faith in Zootopia.

They had tried it all. All arguments they could find in Nick's favor, especially his involvement in the Night Howler investigation and the good he could do if they gave him a chance, had been exposed.

The history of Zootopia was reviewed from three hundred years ago, when it was much smaller than the twelve-precinct giant it had become, to prove that this decision was highly irregular and most importantly, was a big mistake to anything the city stood for.

They had tried to dismiss the jury as no predator had been called and, after the crisis that had shaken the city, a one-hundred percent prey jury could clearly be seen as biased.

She had even started another wave of fist fights throughout the courtroom, hoping to provoke a suspension of the session. The more they had argued, the more desperate she had become, as that meant that the request of the lawyer was not being flatly rejected, until finally, the judge had agreed to it in the end.

Judy wished she could wake up from this nightmare…

* * *

Judy was crying.

She rose to her feet and began shouting. She couldn't believe her ears. This buck had to be kidding, what he was demanding was simply unacceptable. How dared he! Never before had she heard of such a request, and she wouldn't stand by and wait for this speciest jerk to ruin her friend's life like this.

Chaos erupted in the entire court room, not a single mammal left untouched by the buck's words. A wave of cheerful applause clashed with a roar of indignation and outrage, as each individual added to the commotion with a comment of its own.

The situation escalated quickly, as fist fights started here and there. Even the members of the jury were standing, though they seemed unanimous in their conviction, as their shouts were all directed to the audience, and none to each other. This sight brought a cold shiver down the cop's spine, as this could not be to her benefit nor her friend's.

Nick wasn't even here to defend himself, locked behind bars _to prevent bribery_ like they had told her earlier, before the hearing began. The double-doors of the entrance burst open and several pairs of cops entered, rapidly putting an end to all the fights and bringing a relative peace to the room again.

When the room was silent enough, the judge smashed her hammer on the wooden desk and spoke in an angry voice.

"Another outburst like this one and the hearing is over for the day! Have I made myself clear?" None dared speak aloud, but a series of nods confirmed the judge had been heard correctly. The white ewe then spoke again, fixing the brown buck with suspicious eyes.

"Mr Sparcelo, what you are requesting hasn't been heard of for three-hundred and fifty years, and the situation then was completely different from today, and I'm not only talking about the specifics of the case. Are you really sure this is what you wish for in our society and city?" She paused, watching the lawyer's stance carefully.

"Are you ready to look at me straight in the eyes and reassert your claim? To tell every mammal present today that it was not just a small burst of anger and unwanted words that crossed your lips a bit too quickly?"

The words carried an underlying threat to the lawyer's reputation and thus were like a balm to Judy's heart. No sane mammal would be bold enough, or stupid depending on your opinion, to go to that length. Unfortunately for her, the buck was one such individual, and when he raised his head high and stood his ground, her world collapsed.

"I do your honor. I repeat my demand, and request that this court sentence Mr. Wilde to death penalty!"

Judy wished she could wake up from this nightmare…

* * *

Nick was crying.

The fox entered the room with difficulty. His feet were chained, his paws were cuffed, and a third chained linked the two previous shackles at waist level. This was useless, as Nick had never once before tried to resist, but it was part of the protocol.

He kept his head low, trying to enjoy the last walk of his life by recalling all happy moments in it. Moments with his mom as a little kit, playing in the park. Moments with Finnick as they hustled money from gullible mammals and the different ideas they came with month after month. More precious than all were the moments he had spent with Judy.

Two days had been enough to turn his world upside down, bringing in the daylight a part of him that had sunk deep within after the scout's incident. That little ball of grey fur and energy had been the first light in his life since his mother had passed when he was only twelve, twenty years ago.

How he wished he would have met her sooner. He had needed a friend like her all his life, and now that he had found her, the world had decided they couldn't stay together.

Of course he had seen her several times while waiting for his trial, each time she got the agreement from the prison to come visit him, but something in the air always ruined the mood, like a dark cloud of negativity hovering above their heads. Prison was no place for happy memories after all. More tears escaped his eyes as the door opened and he was lightly pushed towards the bed.

Something inside him made him turn to the black curtain on the left side of the room. He couldn't not explain how or why, but he felt her behind it. He knew she would be there, as no matter how much he had tried to dissuade her to come she had always refuse to listen, claiming she would stay with him till the very end.

A true friend indeed. A rare pearl of understanding and care in a world of prejudice and hatred towards his species. And he would ruin it all by making her watch him fall asleep forever. His sigh was cut by a sob, pain asserting its hold on his heart and throat. Obeying an order from behind, he sit on the bed, and waited for the guard to remove all his shackles.

He then laid back on the bed, and the same guard proceeded to strap him on the bed with three large bands of leather, one on the ankles, one on the belly, and one around the shoulders. When finally set up, a doctor brought a heart-monitoring machine, and plugged it. After seconds, the rhythmic bips came to life, ready to confirm his was over when the time comes.

The doctor then prepared three syringes from three different vials and put them down next to the machine. With a nod to the guard, the upper part of the bed was inclined so the fox could face the window and see through it. Another nod, and the black curtain was finally opened, splitting in two parts that were slowly dragged to each side.

Nick wished he could wake up from this nightmare…

* * *

Judy was crying.

She had fallen to her knees in front of the glass. The steady _biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiip_ of the machine was the only audible sound in the room except for her cries, and it was taunting her. He was gone. Her parents were still sitting behind her, incapable to find the words to soothe their daughters, if those words only existed in the first place.

Finnick had left the room minutes before, unable to stand here while his friend was about to die. Nick had asked them all to leave, and only Bogo had accepted at first. He wasn't close to the fox, he was there to represent the ZPD in the face of what he considered the biggest mistake he had ever witnessed. But Nick had been insisting, and he had accepted to listen to his last words.

Finnick had tried to resist, but when the doctor had taken the first syringe he had lost it and thrown a chair to the glass to break it. It failed of course, but he needed to vent his frustration and fury. After a last glance at his friend, and after the first tears in years escaped his eyes, he apologized and left the room without another look behind him, leaving three inconsolable bunnies alone.

Nick was relieved that his friend had left, as he didn't want him to live with this image of him. Only Judy had refused to listen, and she was the last sight he took with him when his eyelids started to close, and his vision faded to black. This was several minutes ago.

The doctor finally unplugged the machine and exited the room. The guard then walked to the bed, and rolled it out of the room, following the doctor. Judy burst in cries once again, as Nick was taken away from her. He had been the only mammal to stand up for her, trust her, and encourage her to follow her dreams. He had been her one and only friend.

But she was a bunny, and he was a fox. The world had decided that such a friendship was not meant to be.

Judy wished she could wake up from this nightmare.

Alas, she knew it wouldn't happen.


End file.
